MARYLAND/DC COCORAHS Volume 2, Issue 3 MAR 2010

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1 MARYLAND/DC COCORAHS Volume 2, Issue 3 MAR 2010 February Weather Review One for the history books! That best describes February in a nutshell. Two major snowstorms within a week of one another in early February helped topple some long established snowfall records across Maryland. The combination of the two storms, one that occurred Feb 5th-6 th and the other Feb 9 th -10 th produced double digit snowfalls across a large portion of the state. Those two storms together with the other major snow in December and several smaller storms help push seasonal snow totals to over 100 inches in some spots in central Maryland. That is just astounding when you consider those amounts are more than 4 times the average annual snowfall. Just the monthly total for February alone in many areas of central Maryland of 50 to 60 inches or more was up to 3 times the average annual snowfall. In western Maryland February snowfall totals exceeded 100 inches! To go along with the record snow, temperatures averaged well below normal. Nighttime lows were not exceptionally cold, but the daytime maxes were quite chilly. The maximum temperature recorded at BWI airport for the month was 46 degrees. Only 6 times dating back to 1872 has the monthly high for February failed to reach the 50 degree mark and the 46 degree reading tied for the coldest February maximum high temperature which was set in Many of our Cocorahs sites across central and western Maryland reported snowfall on the ground for the entire month of February. Heaviest snow total for the month was reported by Lester (MD-GR-2) near Friendsville, MD in Garrett County with a whopping inches, while away from the mountains, Donnie (MD-AA-26) in Southgate in Anne Arundel County reported 64.7 inches for the month. Highest melted snow/rainfall total for the month was also reported by Lester (MD-GR-2) near Friendville, MD with 8.64 inches, while Dennis (MD-TB-4) near St Michaels in Talbot County came in with the second highest reading in the state with 6.79 inches. See page 2 for more top snowfall totals for February. The Challenges of Measuring Deep Snow While having one major snowstorm can present its own challenges, having two major snowstorms within a few days of one another really put most of us to the test. First I want to thank everyone for getting those reports in the best you could. Even those of you that were well prepared for the storms found measuring the very deep snow and getting the melted equivalent very difficult. In situations like these, it is almost impossible to get a decent melted snow value without doing a core sample, unless you are continuing to empty your cylinder every few hours during a snowstorm. Taking a core sample into 16 to 32 inches of snow is not always easy, but can be done! It is always best to have a snow board in place prior to a storm and know where that location is so that you can find it easy. Placing a marker of some sort, whether it is a flag or some other maker will make it much easier to find the board in the event of deep snowfall. Once you know where the board is, you take your 4 inch diameter cylinder and press straight down onto the board. If there is too much snow to push all the way down, you may need to clear away some of the snow to the point where you do not disturb the snow under the gauge, but the brushing away of some snow allows you more leverage to continue to push the cylinder the remainder of the way to the board. Once you reach the board, gently slide a piece of paper or another flat object between the board and cylinder and flip it over. The snow that is then in the cylinder can be melted down and poured back into the cone and smaller cylinder to give you your melted snow amounts. Of course you would also measure your snow depth using a ruler, or in this case a yardstick onto the snowboard. Then you remove the snowboard if you can and place it on top of the new snow to get ready for the next storm. If you were to get another snow, you would then repeat this procedure onto the new board position to get your new snow depth and melted snow amount. Again in deep snow, taking a core sample is the only way to get a fairly accurate reading of your melted snow amount. Maryland/DC CoCoRaHS 1

2 FEBRUARY 2010 PRECIPITATION THE FEBRUARY PRECIPITATION ANALYSIS IS FROM THE ADVANCED HYDROLOGIC PRECIPITATION SERVICE ANALYSIS. TOP SNOWFALL REPORTS FOR FEBRUARY 2010 IN INCHES Maryland/DC CoCoRaHS 2

3 PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE STATE IN FEBRUARY PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALLEN SKLAR OCEAN CITY MARYLAND BOARDWALK AFTER EARLY FEBRUARY 2010 SNOWSTORMS Maryland/DC CoCoRaHS 3

4 MORE PHOTOS SOME WINTER SCENES ACROSS GARRETT COUNTY COURTESY OF LESTER (MD-GR-2) WELCOME NEW COCORAHS OBSERVERS CARSON MD-BL-23 SHELLEY MD-PG-45 JAN MD-CV-14 JAKE MD-BL-24 PAM MD-MG-58 ZACH MD-AA-38 KEN MD-CR-10 WILLIAM MD-QA-6 If you have any question or comments about Maryland/DC CoCoRaHS or would like to submit something for our newsletter please send to or Maryland/DC CoCoRaHS 4

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